Shannon Briggs assured fans that left arm surgery and not life-threatening brain injuries is the reason for his continued hospitalization.
On Saturday (October 16), Briggs received a sustained beating for 12 rounds against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Briggs was badly wobbled several times late in the fight, but refused to go down. The ringside doctor would later state that if he had been consulted by the referee, the fight would have been stopped around the ninth or 10th round. In total, Shannon Briggs suffered a broken nose, two broken orbital bone sockets, a pulled tendon, and a torn left bicep from 171 power punches.
“Hopefully I showed you the heart of a lion and the perseverance of a champion,” Briggs said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, the injury kept me from fully executing my fight plan. Not to take anything away from a brilliant performance by Vitali Klitschko Saturday night, [but] had I had not injured my arm early on, who knows how the fight would have concluded.”
According to Briggs’ management team, their fighter has had no brain swelling, and both MRI and CAT scans were negative.
Vitali Klitschko praised Briggs’ heart, and visited him at the hospital last Sunday (October 17).
At press time, Shannon Briggs has not estimated how long he will remain in Germany.
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Medical reports showing Shannon Briggs doesn’t have any brain damage doesn’t eliminate my concern. What his brain tests look like 10-15 years from now is what concerns me.
Beatings like the one Vitali Klitschko administered last weekend leave a permanent mark on fighters. The older you are, the less ability your body has to bounce back from it. Briggs spraining tendons and ripping bicep muscles is a good indicator that his body is falling apart. But while muscles can heal, your brain doesn’t have the same capabilities to repair itself from constant trauma.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 